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The last several years have seen a food renaissance in England's West Country. In the top restaurants the accent is firmly on local and seasonal products. Seafood is the number one choice along the coasts, from Atlantic pollock to Helford River oysters, and it's available in places from haute restaurants to harborside fish shacks. Celebrity chefs have marked their pitch all over the region, including Michael Caines in Exeter and Dartmoor, the Tanner brothers in Plymouth, Rick Stein in Padstow and Falmouth, Mitch Tonks in Dartmouth, and Jamie Oliver in Newquay. Better-known establishments are often completely booked on Friday or Saturday, so reserve well in advance.
One of the town's most famous inns, the 17th-century Admiral Benbow was once a smugglers' pub—look for the figure of a smuggler on the roof, and (if it's not too busy) ask to see the tunnel used for contraband. There's a good selection of West Country ales, and in the family-friendly dining room, decorated to resemble a ship's officers' mess, you can enjoy pizzas, seafood, and steaks. Seafaring memorabilia, a brass cannon, model ships, and figureheads fill the place.
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